Consulting the Experts

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Consulting the Experts

Consultancy. A word much bandied about and a bit of a mystery. What is it that consultants DO exactly? Next Wave has asked a number of consultants to give us some insight into their jobs, and we're publishing their stories in this, our occasional series. We hope that by the end of the series, you'll have a much better idea of just how varied both the world of consulting and the lives of individual consultants can be. They do have one thing in common, though. They all agree that having a science background is a valuable, and sometimes invaluable, asset!

This Week:

Clare Sansom explains how she has combined her interest in bioinformatics, distance teaching, and science writing to develop a successful freelance career.

Previously:

Tim Peakman embarked on a career in the pharmaceutical industry and became increasingly fascinated by the strategic issues facing that industry. Taking an MBA led him down a new path: into the specialist area of pharmaceutical consulting.

Yvonne Pinto knew from early in her career that she wanted to use science to help people in developing countries. By consulting for a charity, she is able to do just that.

Gillian Sebestyen tells us about a new area of consulting, where the critical eye is turned on consultants themselves. The research skills she learned during her DPhil were all she needed to fit into an internal consulting role.

Giuseppe De Filippo tells us how he moved from physics into management consultancy. Perhaps the type of consultancy most people initially associate with the term, and the one most closely aligned with the image of brief-case wielding business school graduate, Giuseppe tells us that the firm he works for is keen to employ scientists.

There are many other arenas of consultancy in which to deploy your talents - keep an eye on our series, and while you wait?check out some of Next Wave's past content.

Meredith Lloyd-Evans describes the path she took to setting up her own technology consultancy in Cambridge.

Betty Skolnick and Ben Martin highlight M.Sc. courses at the University of Sussex's Science Policy Research Unit that can help prepare students for consultancy work in the field of technology and innovation management.

Rima Makarem details her own route from biochemistry to management consulting.